4 Memes Sake, 4 Sooth, 4 Play

4 words to describe my response to this meme:

4giving amuirin for the tagging: Ever stop and wander just for one cotton picking minute if I was planning to write something else, huh? I didn’t think so.

4getting that some of us read books and listen to music.

4 crying out loud that I have to pick only 4 for some of these that could easiy go into double digits and give the goddam impression that these are the best 4 when they are the most available 4 out of 40 or out of 10. Man!

4saking my original idea about mindshocking books to respond to this challenge.

4 jobs I’ve had:

Taxi Driver

Shortlived. One of three jobs at the time to save up money for opening a bookstore. The job that lets you see people at their best.

Film Studies Instructor

For a university extension course with mostly my desire as a qualification.

Garbage Hauler

At a department store in Germany. Kind of enjoyed it -an entry into the real Germany.

Traffic Surveyer

Literally counted cars at intersections for a few summers. Lived in the truck for weeks at a time and got to see a lot of the province. Campfire every night. It was a good if solitary life.

4 movies I’ll watch over and over (only 4??):

Apocalypse Now

I love attempts at great art, and even more, unqualified successes such as this one. Francis Ford Coppola never came close again to this masterpiece (always found The Godfathers Trilogy overrated though I like Rumblefish and would like to see One from the Heart again). Not only is this one of the big war films but you have the little pleasures of seeing young Harrison Ford and Laurence Fishburne as well as an unbeatable cast, the best barely tied to the dock Dennis Hopper next to Blue Velvet, an incredible soundtrack, atmosphere to kill for and all the Western cultural resonances you could hope for.

Manhattan

Not to downplay the near perfect script but Woody along with Gordon Willis concocted one of the most beautiful films ever laid to celluloid; the black and white scenes of New York City, the scene at the observatory, all of it eye candy. (Around the time was a nice little resurgence of big black and white with Stardust Memories and Raging Bull too). Always felt that Mariel Hemingway wasn’t up to sitting at the adult table but maybe that was the point. Its one of the most romantic but smartest and funniest films ever, leaving Annie Hall in the dust.

The General

Again, this is a beautiful film and a window into life lived long ago. Steamboat Bill Jr. is perhaps a little more amazing but this has more of a sense of epic grandeur. Buster Keaton is my favourite of the old silent stars and seems surprisingly contemporary in both his looks and style. And like Harold Lloyd part of this is circus pleasure -watching people perform actions that today are mostly special effects.

Pulp Fiction

One of those films that I forget how good it is between the times I am watching it. I’ve seen it maybe 4 times now and each time I’m pleasantly surprised. Like all of Tarantino’s stuff, as much for the film references as for the endless rappy yap his characters engage in. The weakest parts of the films are his own appearances. And he is the only director who has managed to bring Uma Thurman to life. In fact, his other great gift is reanimating lost actors. And it has Bruce Willis, perhaps the most underrated actor of our time.

4 other films I would rather die than miss mentioning: Bad Timing, Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Dr. Strangelove and Mr. Hulot’s Holiday.

4 places I’ve lived:

Qualicum Bay on Vancouver Island

Spent a winter there and walked the beach every day along the channel. Spent a lot of time riding the ferries.

Heidelberg Germany

A year partly in school and partly working. Beer and bratwurst in the most beautiful city in Germany. Also a few months in Rothenburg, an ancient walled town, all cobblestones.

Teulon Manitoba

A couple of years as a child. Found out years later that this was on a great garter snake migration route and on a regular basis thousands of snakes would slither through town, through kitchen cupboards and hallways.

Edmonton Alberta

Winnipeg was once likened to a punch in the mouth, this is more like a rude shove. The river valley is extensive and nice. Not a bad place but I have seen better.

4 shows I watch: (I’ve already written about these so link if so inclined).

This Hour has 22 Minutes

This Hour has 22 Minutes

Dexter

Dexter

Brotherhood

Brotherhood

The Shield

The Shield

4 foods I love:

Chiles

What is life or food without heat. My condiment of choice is sambal oelek, my chile of choice is the clean but hot serrano, and for special occasions the fruity habanero. And for that great smoky touch, the diminutive round and hot pequin. Also like to drink the “tea” from soaking dried peppers.

Chocolate

My downfall. Dark dark almost bitter chocolate. Like Baker’s baking chocolate rather than candy bars. Like to play with it in cooking.

Coffee

Don’t think I have to explain this to too many people. Good stuff, what? Now I have an espresso machine in fairly regular use.

Ginger

I would never miss garlic though ginger would be a hardship. Maybe I’ve never forgiven garlic for the stench in the breath, the reek in the air, or I just don’t find it adds much except I do use it in spaghetti sauce. (Also have no love for asparagus but that’s more bcause I am one of those excreters and its vile enough that I’ll just not eat it.) But ginger snaps, cookies, bread, candies, in stir fries, etc…can’t do without it.

4 places I’ve been:

Las Cruces New Mexico

Not far from the amazing White Sands. Nice sized place in the desert with a good used bookstore and a great bed and breakfast.

Isla Mujeres Mexico

Was there a long time ago before high rises. Remember damp mouldy sheets, mouldy bread, bad Nescafe, generally dirty everything but beautiful ocean and tooling around the island in a motoped.

Formenterra Spain

Stones throw from Ibiza in the Mediterranean. Camped near the beach. Desert like island with a town called San Francisco.

Warsaw Poland

Beautiful old town contrasted with new Soviet blocks. I’d go back ( I’d go back to all of them). And for the good taste of the basic foods, the bread and the vegetables.

4 websites I go to daily:

My public library

Because I always have something waiting or to be ordered.

WordPress (my own blogs)

My own to write and to use as the stepping stone to places I’ve bookmarked. The first blog I ever created and then abandoned was meant purely as a place to keep all my links to information. Lasted about a day or so when I realized bookmarks on my browser did the job well enough.

My blogroll members

Those five on my blog that I check in on daily. One of the requirements other than being of interest is fairly regular updating. This list changes slightly from time to time.

Google

I use many different search engines depending but this is the easy one. Used to be obsessed with finding different ones. For a while stuck with multi-search engines Vivismo and Dogpile then into the visual ones like Kartoo but Google answers most questions well enough.

4 places I might rather be:

Barcelona

Because it is all round the most perfect city I have been to. I will live there someday if only for a year.

Rekjavik

The only one I have not been to but am entirely intrigued by (the country as well). And maybe run into Bjork?

Santa Fe

Because even now, more than a decade later, I remember the best food day of my life starting at the Coyote Cafe and ending at Pasquale’s. Not only the food but the decor, that most fortuitous mix of cultures in all aspects of life.

Prague

I could live there too. Wonderful walking town. Search this blog if you need reasons to go to Prague.

I’m supposed to be tagging others to carry on but I’m going not going to do that because my eminent taggables have already been tagged and as a relative newcomer to this community I just don’t have that many people to draw on so I have to be a benevolently inclined dead end. But if any readers out there want to pick up my dangling baton…